How to help us

Do you have a few hours to spare on an occasional basis? If so, then WE NEED YOU!

Other volunteering positions are on offer.

Are you friendly, with excellent communications, admin and interpersonal skills? Do you have good English and basic Maths skills? Can you work as part of a team?

Do you have an up to date First Aid Certificate? Do you have any teaching or training experience? Would you like to learn Emergency First Aid skills (CPR etc)? Could you help at our FREE two hour courses to enable us to pass on these essential skills to people in your community? Are you over 18? Do you drive and have access to a vehicle?

Could you be an ambassador for our charity? Volunteers are also needed to occasionally help with PR, writing press releases, basic admin at courses, website/social media support, picking up charity boxes, giving talks to local groups, fundraising, helping at events, making crafts or cakes, running a stall, writing grant applications etc.

Trustees also needed to oversee our Charity (suitability for a Volunteer Trustee position will depend upon your background and experience) etc.

Contact the coordinator for details of these or other volunteering opportunities, by emailing herefordshireheartstart@btconnect.com or call 0845 60 60 654.

We do not have any set hours or set days for volunteers, just helping out once or twice a month could really make a difference.

Can you organise one off events? Do you want to help, but don’t have much time?

We rely on ongoing fundraising events to enable us to continue supporting the people of Herefordshire. Could you organise an event in your local community? Could you hold an open garden, bingo night, pamper evening, quiz night, sponsored cycle, swim, walk etc? We need people to help us raise more funds this year, so that we can continue teaching these vital lifesaving skills throughout Herefordshire. Please get in touch if you can help.

Instructors

Do you have up to date first aid certificate and teaching experience? Could you teach basic emergency life support skills, ie basic first aid, teaching cpr, recovery position, dealing with choking, serious bleeding and recognising and helping someone who is having a heart attack?

You will be volunteering as part of a team, as well as delivering the training, Instructors will need to carry and store certain items (eg manikins, portable projection equipment, course paperwork etc). You will be required to set up the room, which may involve moving tables and chairs depending on the venue. You will need to put out clean manikins, wipes as well as setting up and using projection equipment.

You will be required to complete a course register and certificates for course participants and give hand-outs at the end of the course. With a helper, there will be some books, revive aids and resuscitation packs to sell at the end of the course. Money will then need to be counted at the end of the course etc.

You will be required to kneel to demonstrate CPR and recovery position. If acting as a casualty, this will involve twisting and rolling.

You will need to be good with basic admin ie course paperwork and have good English and basic maths skills ie can add up.

If you would like to become a volunteer instructor you will need to attend a Heartstart course, complete an application form, DBS check(at no cost to yourself), attend an informal interview and provide two character references. Providing you meet the criteria and have the right skills, experience and background we may be able to accept you onto the Instructor Training programme. We will then train you, support you and pay your petrol expenses.

Our volunteer instructors are trained to teach the Heartstart courses. There are limited spaces for new instructors, if you are interested in volunteering to become an instructor, please contact the Co-ordinator/Project Manager for details.

Helpers Could you help our instructors occasionally at a two hour course?

An up to date first aid certificate would be useful, but it isn’t essential for course helpers, as we will teach you what to do when checking cpr/recovery position. Are you good with paperwork, ie have good basic English and maths skills and can you add up?

If you’ve already got a current first aid certificate, or teaching experience then we would welcome you joining as a helper to check that attendees are doing the recovery position and CPR correctly.

Otherwise, our helpers will be taught by the experienced instructors at the courses what to do and what to look for.

Helpers should be willing to act as a casualty and to help with setting up the room, putting out manikins and wipes. You will also be required to count out hand-outs and give these out to course participants at the end of the course.

Helpers also help by completing the course register and certificates, selling books, revive aids and resuscitation packs, counting money at the end of the course etc with another volunteer.

Helpers also assist the instructors by carrying boxes, manikins and projection equipment. They may be required to move tables and chairs when setting up the room.

Helpers need to be mobile enough to kneel, twist and roll when acting as a casualty, ie for demonstrating recovery position.

If you would like to become a volunteer helper you will need to attend a Heartstart course, complete an application form, DBS check (at no cost to yourself), attend an informal interview and provide two character references. Providing you meet the criteria we will then accept you as a volunteer helper. We will then train you, support you and pay your petrol expenses.

We need to keep raising funds to put on more of our FREE courses.

Craft Workers Could you make crafts for us to sell? Do you have a food hygiene certificate, could you make cakes or biscuits? Could you sell these at a craft fayre maybe once or twice a year? We can reimburse you for the basic cost of materials.

Events Team – Could you man a stall at a local event to promote our courses and our need for volunteers? This usually only takes place a couple of times a year, please contact us if you can help.

Charity Box Collectors – Could you collect and deliver our charity boxes to local businesses a couple of times a year?

Fundraisers

Fundraisers are also desperately sought to help us reach more people in Herefordshire.

Could you organise or help out at a fundraising event? Could you man a stand once a year? Could you do an occasional bag pack or street collection?

Where we work

We teach small to large groups, the average size of a group is 10-18, the largest group being about 40 which required 8 volunteers to cover the course. Courses take place in a variety of locations, such as community centres, church halls, business premises, schools, village halls. We’ve even run courses in people’s homes for small groups providing there is space.

Who do we teach?

We run courses for brownies, guides, walking groups, colleges, parent groups in schools, WI groups, rotary clubs, youth groups, parish councils, non-clinical staff at GP Surgeries and local businesses etc. We also run public courses where any member of the public can book themselves onto a course, which can be at any venue in the county, providing it is offered to us free of charge.

If you can only help in your own area that is fine, but if you don’t mind travelling a little further afield, in Herefordshire, that will really help us to push these courses further into the rural communities.

Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) Checks

As we are working with members of the public, including children it is a legal requirement that volunteers undertake a Disclosure and Barring Service Check (DBS), formerly known as a CRB check. This is a criminal record check. If you don’t have a criminal record, then it is nothing to be concerned about. If you already have an up to date DBS check please advise the Co-ordinator at the time of applying, otherwise Herefordshire Heartstart will pay for the DBS check.

Some instructors run two or three courses a month with one or two other instructors. Some only once a month, some only a few times a year. We don’t expect you to commit regular hours each week, if you can only do a few hours on an occasional basis, that is fine, as it all helps us to plan and run courses.

If you are you friendly, with excellent communications, admin, interpersonal skills, basic English and maths skills and can work as part of a team we would love to hear from you.

If you would like more details, please email herefordshireheartstart@btconnect.com or call 0845 60 60 654.

Donations

Donations are extremely important for us to continue teaching these life-saving skills. All donations received stay in Herefordshire, to enable us to keep running these vital courses.

No matter how small your donation, every penny counts. We can claim back an extra amount from the government through the gift aid scheme, but it doesn’t cost you any more money.

Please help us by using Gift Aid to make your donation go even further. This will enable us to continue teaching these vital lifesaving skills to the people of Herefordshire. Please contact the Co-ordinator for details.